gyokuro

Gyokuro, a shade grown steamed green tea, is among the finest of Japanese teas. While the young leaves of the spring season develop, the Gyokuro plants are shaded from sun for several weeks. This slows the growth allowing, tea leaves more time to develop depth and flavor. The sun-deprived leaves are higher in chlorophyll, which explains their vivid green color. They're also higher in amino acids, most notably L-theanine, which accounts for the perfectly smooth, rich and soft flavor. Our fine Gyokuro green tea produces a deeply sweet aroma of freshly buttered greens and seaweed, with no grassiness or harshness. Think of tender new grass just sprouting in the spring. Soft on the palate with a balanced, delicate finish. Energizing and soothing cup of tea. Use lower water temperature and enjoy multiple infusions to get the most from this tea.

Steep at 170° for 2 minutes.

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gyokuro teabags

Filled with the same high quality, full-leaf teas offered loose, our tea bags
have a distinctive pyramid shape that gives leaves plenty of room to unfurl and
fully infuse for the finest cup of tea. Savor the superior flavor of loose tea
without sacrificing the convenience of a teabag.

teabags

15 full leaf pyramids

$39

meet the farmer

Nagashima Takehisa

Asahina, Japan

Q How long have you been growing tea?

A"About 50 years. I have been involved in agriculture, especially in green tea fields ever since I graduated from an agricultural high school."

Q What got you started in the Tea industry?

A"I was the firstborn son of a green tea farming family, so it was a natural choice. Mainly I have been growing green tea, and I also grow Gyokuro."

Q Can you describe a typical day out in the field. How many hours would that be?

A"To growing Gyokuro, we start out by making shade coverings called "Komo" which is made of black polyester mesh. When green tea bushes' buds start coming out in April, we start putting covering on the frames over the tea bushes. After about 10 days, we cover with two layers, and cut the sun rays by 95%, and we pick them in 20 days.

We pick them by hand, so an adult could only pick 10kg of tea leaves working from 6AM till 6PM. Then finished tea will come out only 2kg. We cannot pick tea leaves on rainy days. After air-dry the leaves in bamboo containers, we start processing them 5AM next morning."

Q What is your favorite part of growing tea? What inspires you to keep going?

A"When Gyokuro grows up to be what I hoped. When we take good care of the tea bushes, they respond."

Q Conversely, what is the hardest part of your job?

A"The hardest thing is the climate. When new buds are coming out, frost is our biggest concern. In order to protect the new buds, we need to cover the tea bushes."

Q How has tea farming changed over the years?

A"The green tea industry will change due to the rise of price of fertilizer, pesticides contrasting with the price of tea going down itself, and a lack of successors to carry on the businesses."

Q What do you think makes your tea more unique or better than others?

A"We manage all fertilizer and organic manure. We use 100 kg a year. We manage the right steaming temperature like human temperature, and all temperature in manufacturing lines."

Q What makes the difference between a successful and unsuccessful harvest?

A"As for tea, there is growing and manufacturing. In growing, temperature and pest control is important. In manufacturing, managing raw harvested leaves and the machinery used for processing are important factors."

Q Do you exchange growing secrets with other local farmers?

A"We often do exchange information with other Gyokuro farmers of the Asahina area in order to improve quality about growing and manufacturing."

Q Are there any tips you can give on how to best brew your tea?

A"Asahina Gyokuro is best drunken by "TsuyuCha", or drip tea. It is often said that when your throat is thirsty, drink Senhca. When your heart is thirsty, drink Gyokuro. Gyokuro is the best when you brew as the same temperature as a human's skin and drink it slowly over much time."

Q What is your favorite tea to drink and why?

A"Gyokuro. The sweetness that sweeps in the mouth is just excellent."

Q If you had any advice to give western tea drinkers, what would it be?

A"Last year, I went to Paris, France to promote Gyokuro with the Okabe Tea Association, and even in France, "TsuyuCha" was popular."

Q What does this project & contribution mean to you?

A"Thank you for featuring Gyokuro. I want the readers to taste the real Gyokuro."

fresh from the garden

To ensure the best quality and value, we import our teas directly from the
countries in which they are grown, working closely with the farmers who tender
them.

Our Roots Campaign connects our customers with the rich stories and the farmers
behind some of our most popular teas.

fresh from origin

Gyokuro, which means 'jade dew', is one of Japan's most renowned and expensive teas. In the Japanese tea tradition, the texture of the tea itself is extremely important. At the end of the tea making process, the tea master will carefully blend in tiny, broken up 'tea dust' to give the finished cup more body and richness. You can actually see these particles when you scoop out your tea. You also see them in your cup - many fine Japanese greens have a lovely, slightly cloudy appearance. This contributes to the 'umami' of the tea.

This tea contains ahigh levelof caffeine

direct trade advantage

We import our teas direct from the artisan farmers whose names and faces you'll find throughout our catalog.
This makes our teas fresher than those offered by the companies who use middlemen and brokers, and also less expensive.
Here's a comparison of how much more you'd be paying by buying this tea elsewhere:

Teavana:

70% more expensive

David's Tea:

69% more expensive

* price compared for the purchase ofone pound (or 500g) of similar teas